Muni Diaries

Mark your calendars: Muni Diaries Live is back on Saturday, April 18, for an evening of laughter and drinks to celebrate everything that can happen on your commute. For our spring show, we’re bringing together riders, bus drivers, and even a band who sings about whiskey and transit, our two favorite topics ever. We’re also bringing in a new Muni haiku challenger for a new show-down!

Check out the full lineup, and grab your tickets soon!

Muni Diaries Live
Advanced tickets are sold out, but we’ve saved some spots for a few door tickets. Get there early!
Saturday, April 18, Door: 6 p.m. Show: 7 p.m.
Elbo Room
647 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Take Muni there: J-Church, 12, 14, 22, 33, 49, or BART: 16th or 24th St stations

Our stellar storytellers:
Yayne Abeba is a native San Franciscan. As a child, you could find her dancing and singing her way around San Francisco with the San Francisco Children’s Opera. In 1995, she began studying with Jean Shelton at the Jean Shelton actor’s lab. She was bitten by the comedy bug in 1999 at Tony Spark’s Luggage Store. “…It’s like I have no control over it…whether it’s an open mike, a showcase, or a soap box, I just want to be a part of it.”

Doug Meriwether has been a transit operator for the SFMTA for 16 years and has withstood the test of time: He still has his “day” job by working nights on the Mission Street buses! Step up and step in to follow Doug and find your Zen in a trolley. His guidebook (or rule book) covers everything from how to pay at the fare box to where to stand while waiting for the bus. Plus, he adds some philosophy on how to maintain dignity and peace when the going gets tough.

Kate Willett is a San Francisco-based comedian and actress. She’s appeared in SF Sketchfest, the San Francisco Comedy Competition, and at clubs, theaters, and dive bars all over. San Francisco Magazine says she’s a comedian you should know about, and SF Weeklysays she’s one of the “strongest female figures in Bay Area Comedy.” As an actress, she has performed throughout the U.S. with groups such as Shakespeare and Company, Word for Word, Woman’s Will, and the Samuel Beckett Theater in Dublin, Ireland. She’s also the co-producer of the weekly show The Mission Position in Lost Weekend Video’s popular CineCave and Live at Deluxe at Club Deluxe.

Tarin Towers has been riding Muni since 1995, when she used to ride the 22 to her first job working the graveyard shift at the Denny’s in Japantown. She has performed her work nationwide, including on tour with Sister Spit. Her book is called, Sorry, We’re Close. She’s a big fan of manners and also a realist. Please don’t block the aisle with your enthusiasm.

Jesse James is the reigning champion of the Muni Haiku Battle. When not administering tours of the Golden Gate Bridge to Australian tourists, Jesse spends way too much money on art school and a slightly smaller amount on comic books. He didn’t drink until he was 21 and has been trying to make up for lost time ever since. Jesse was the winner of the TOHS Class of 2000’s Most Extraordinarily Unique Male Senior Award.

Mesquite and Mustard is a three-piece musical act from San Francisco. Simply put, they play songs about whiskey, trains, biscuits, and mamas.

Ronn Vigh‘s brash attitude and acerbic wit have earned him a comparison to a young Joan Rivers by SF Weekly. It’s a fitting comparison, since he later became a writer for E! Television’s Fashion Police, which was co-hosted by Rivers. For 13 years, Ronn has been a proud San Francisco resident and not-so-proud Muni rider. It just further reminds him that his car was repossessed when he first moved here. On the bright side, he’s also a yoga teacher and has found that regularly riding Muni is an excellent way to put all the teachings of compassion and letting go into practice. It’s also great for working on your core strength when there’s no dirty hand strap in reach as you’re being tossed around a careening L train at rush hour.

Photo by Right Angle Images